Arthur B. (Jake) Jacoby - Private to Private First Class.

Served with distinction in the Hq1 Battalion Intelligence Section (S2) from March 1943 to November 1945.

Arthur Jacoby was a heroic Hq1 “Hell’s Half Acre” survivor (See Chapter II, Combat Operations – Normandy). 

Arthur Jacoby is a distinguished member of the “Greatest of the Greatest Generation.”

Arthur (Jake) Jacoby was an outstanding courageous combat soldier but a ne’er-do-well garrison soldier, always pursuing his own agenda and marching to a different drummer than his contemporaries.

Jake was a magnificent patrol leader, he habitually accomplished his missions, and provided decision makers with timely, accurate and comprehensive information concerning the identification and capabilities of German forces in contact.

Jacoby was admired, envied, and respected by his peers and with reservations by his superiors.  

Jake was born July 5, 1923 in New York City, NY. He moved to San Francisco, CA,  and on October 7, 1942 enlisted in the Army.

The ever adventurous Jake, volunteered for Airborne training and was sent to Camp Blanding, FL, assigned to the newly created 508^th Para-chute Infantry Regiment (508^th PIR) for basic and pre-parachute school physical training.

In March 1943, Jake qualified as a parachutist at Fort Benning, GA. He pinned on his coveted parachute wings, went on furlough, returned to Fort Benning, and moved with the 508^th PIR to Camp Mackall, NC.

At Camp Mackall, Jake was transferred from Company A to Hq1 and assigned to the Battalion S2 section. He served outstandingly in the S2 section for the remainder of his military career. 

For the remainder of 1943, Jake participated in an arduous advanced infantry training and airborne operations training program. He fired weapons, performed long cross-country marches, participated in field exercises, made several parachute jumps with equipment, and struggled through large-scale maneuvers in Tennessee and South Carolina.